Process of producing water gas



Oct. 23, 1934. c. E. LUCKE vPROCESS ,OF PRODUCING WATER GAS T 7 am E n 7 Mr `W. .4 E H a@ M w W f M. f r.. l 6 w f m W W m w H w M M M; .@,JW s r Aww mkg *H w mi ro r a m N6 `n.. E IU, .M 5 u n U 4 v ,A u M 1 Y, 11 j e 1 4 y n/f 0 dv `z 1./ N W/f/ m fl f4 Patented Oct. o 23, 1934 UNITED STA rRocEss or raonUcINc WATER Gas Charles E. Lucke, New

York, N. Y., assignor to The Babcock & Wilcox Company, Bayonne, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey original application october 1, 1927, serial No.

223,268. Divided and'this application December 1, 1928, Serial No. 323,108. Renewed November 18, 1932 2 Claims.

This invention relates to the production of water gas by heating coal or coke, using balls or othershaped particles of incombustible solid material and supplying steamthereto. This is a division of my-app1ication Ser. 223,268 illed October 1, 1927.

The invention will be understood from the de scription in connection with the accompanying drawing, which is a vertical section through an illustrative embodiment of a device for carrying out the invention.

While the invention will be described in connection with the use of balls of solid incombustible material, it is to be understood that other shapes may be used and that the material may be metallic or non-metallic.

In the drawing reference character 1 indicates a chute that leads to `a hopper 2 that is provided with a rotating valve 3 at the lower portion thereof for feeding the balls into a heating chamber 4 that is provided with a hot gas inlet 5 near its lower end and with a spent gas outlet 6 near its upper end. When the balls moving beyond the vaive 3 fall, as indicated, centrally of the chamber 4, the stream of balls is expanded and the heating of the materials in the chamber by the passage of hot gases therethrough is facilitated.

An inlet 7 for coal or coke leads into a connection '7' leading from the lower portion of the chamber 4 into the upper portion of a second chamber 8 where the water gas is generated. When the coal or coke passes from the inlet 7 to a position centrally of the relatively contracted stream of incombustible bodies in the connection 7, adequately prompt and complete heating of the fuel is promoted. When, after the fuel is delivered centrally of the relatively contracted stream and after the gasification of the fuel is started, the combined stream of fuel and incombustible bodies expands within the chamber 8 while steam passes upwardly through the combined mass. This simultaneous passage of the steam and expanding of the stream of incandescent, incombustible bodies provides for improved passage and contact of the steam with the bodies and improved action in the formation of the resultant water gas. A steam pipe 9 enters the lower portion of the chamber 8 and an outlet pipe 10 for the Water gasv leads away from the upper portion of the chamber 8.

A connection 11 leads from the lower portion of the chamber 8 intolthe upper. portion of the chamber 12 where the solid particles are cooled. The lower portion of the chamber 12 is provided with a cooled air inlet 13 near the bottom and a heated air outlet 14 near the top.

A connection 15 leads from the lower. portion of the chamber 12 to a chute 16 that is provided along the bottom side thereof with a perforated screen 17 below which an outlet 18 is provided. An elevator 19 is provided at the lower end of the chute 16 for raising the balls to the chute 1 at the top.I

The operation is as follows:

Balls or other shapes of solid incombustible material pass along the chute 1 into the hopper 2 from which they are fed at a regulated rate by means of the rotating valve 3 into the heating chamber 4 Where they are heated by hot gases 70 entering through the inlet 5 and contacting with theballs in a countercurrent direction, the spent gases passing out through the outlet 6. The balls are heated in the chamber 4 to a sufliciently high temperature to render the coal or coke that is subsequently mixed therewith incandescent. The hot balls pass vdownwardly through the connection 'I' and coal or coke, preferably in particles smaller than the balls, are introduced through the inlet 7 and pass with the balls into the water gas gen#- 80 erator 8 in an incandescent state. Steam that enters through the inlet 9 contacts with the in- .candescent coal or coke in the generator 8 and the sensible heat of the balls supplies the heat for the endothermic reaction in this chamber that generates-water gas. The endothermic reaction cools the mixture to some extent. The water gas passes through the outlet 10 to a cooler or place of use, not` shown. y

The partially cooled balls and the ashes from the. coal or coke pass through the connection 11 into the chamber 12 where they are further cooled by cool air that enters through the inlet 13 while the hot air passes out through the outlet 14. The cooled mixture of hot balls and ashes then passes over the screen 17 at the bottom of the chute16, the ashes passing into the outlet 18 and the balls pass into the lower end of the chut-e 16, from which they are elevated by means of the conveyor 19 and again enter the vchute 1. )00

I claim:

l. In a process for producing water gas, the maintenance of. an enclosed column of incombustible bodies constantly moving towards one end of the column, the commingling of solid carbonaceous fuel by delivering said fuel within the moving columnwhile the stream of materials in the column is in a relatively contracted state, subsequently expanding the enclosed stream of the column in a chamber at a position beyond the positions of heating and commingling, passing steam countercurrently through the commingled materials in the stream of the column while it is expanding, continuously withdrawing water gas formed during the movement cf the column, and returning the bodies of ineombustible material to the entry end of the column after their movement past the position at which the water gas was formed.

2. In a process for producing water lgas, the maintenance of a constantly progressing enclosed stream of heat absorbing incombustible bodies, heating said bodies in an initial zone of the stream, commingling solid carbonaceous fuel by causing said fuel to be delivered at a point within the stream where the latter is relatively contracted, expanding the stream of commingled incombustble bodies and fuel in a chamber beyond the point of entry to the fuel, introducing steam into said chamber so that it passes through the bodies of mixed fuel and incombustible materials while the latter are in a state of incandescence and while the stream s expanded in said chamber, continuously withdrawing the water gas formed in said chamber, again expanding the stream of material after it passes from said chamber, and extracting heat from the bodies of material while they are subject to the last mentioned expansion.

CHARLES E. LUCKE. 

